the big celebrities that the democrats roll out. >> eliot: i bet logical be clint eastwood. that's "viewpoint." stay tune to enter the war room with jennifer granholm. have a great long weekend. i'm >> jennifer:. tonight in "the war room," well, that was interesting the party of no, turns into the party of i, i am willing to tell lies, i'm already looking forward to 2016, as in i -- oh i can't even go there. tell just gop what happened to we? as in we the people. >> all in favor signify by say saying aye!

>> aye! >> jennifer: i guess that answers that. ♪ >> mitt romney's speech last night, he rolled out a new strategy to win over former obama voters. he said i know you liked him. i know you were excited about him, but don't you think it might be time to give someone else a try? listen. >> romney: if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he is president obama? [ cheers and applause ] >> romney: you know there is something wrong with the kind of job he has done as president, when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] >> jennifer: it's okay obama voters. it's not you. it's him. he let you down. it's okay to break up with him.

it was the same message paul ryan pushed on wednesday. here is that one. >> college graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading obama posters, and wondering when they can move out and get going with life. [ cheers and applause ] >> if you are feeling left out for passed by, you have not failed. your leaders have failed you. >> jennifer: speaking of failed leaders, it appears that this new strategy to appeal to former obama voters was actually dreamed up by none other than top bush advisor, karl rove. yesterday karl rove addressed about 70 of the party's wealthiest donors at an exclusive breakfast place called the tampa club. and karl rove unveiled a strategy there that sounds remarkably similar to the one

that romney pushed in his speech. he told the donors, quote . . . >> jennifer: get it? so rove complained that he had had come to that conclusion -- explained that he had come to that conclusion after his super pac did a huge amount of focus group research. that research was funded by who else? the koch brothers. quote . . . >> jennifer: and he is hoping that those partners are going to continue to pony up. former mississippi governor haley haley barbour . . .

>> jennifer: of course, right? giving money to fight cancer is exactly the same as funding a candidate who wants to cut funding for scientific research on cancer. those donors have already funneled millions into rove's cross roads super pac and using it to run this commercial. take a listen. >> yeah, i'm living with my parents again. i don't know there is just no jobs out there. i have been doing this since graduation. and i can't do it for four more years. >> jennifer: i'm tired. i can't do it for four more years. wouldn't you know it today on the campaign trail romney used a very similar line. take a listen. >> romney: you are going to have to go out and find a person or two for barack obama. i know they are here. they are not as visible as they used to be.

you can see some of the glue on the back of that bumper sticker -- or where it used to be. >> jennifer: so he still think these super pacs aren't coordinating with romney's campaign? after he spelled out how much he would like to win over former obama voters romney did this, he mixed up the word country with another word. take a listen. >> romney: paul ryan and i understand how the economy works, we understand how washington works. we will reach across the aisle and find good people who like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges, and want to get america back on track again! >> jennifer: and now romney is

back on track. so for more on all of this we're going to turn to washington and democratic strategy karl frisch and we're joined by michelle bernard, president of the barnard center. welcome back both of you inside "the war room." >> thanks, governor. >> karl do you think myth's speech did anything to win over the target of former obama voters? and what did you think of the speech? >> i think it was well written, but poorly delivered. it was fun listening to pundits say this is the best speech mitt romney has ever given. which is a remarkably low bar. it is so low even his grandkids couldn't limbo under it. it would be nice if he showed as much emotion and compassion for

families that have the kids at the end of the bed because they can't afford a bigger apartment, but his convention is for his type of family. so it rang a little hollow for me. i would give it a 7 out of 10 for mitt romney, but for a normal candidate that's more like a 3 or 4. >> jennifer: i'm curious about the strategy to appeal to obama voters. and let me ask michelle, do you think that was successful? >> the speech that governor romney gave last night moved the ball forward in showing the american public that he is a human being. he has been running for president for so many years now, and so many people say they don't know who mitt romney was, and so that's why the convention was very important for him. the speech last night, there were parts of it that were compelling for mitt romney as

the person that we know him to be. in terms of talking obama supporters into becoming romney supporters, i don't think that that has yet happened. we didn't hear anything about policy, all we heard was mitt romney is a family wife very much loved by his wife and children, the story he gave last night about his father and the love that his father had for his mother, and his father left his mother a rose every day, and the day she found out that her husband died was the day she didn't receive a rose. but it might not be enough to actually convince anyone to vote for romney. there was the reagan democrat, but i don't think we're going to see obama republicans. >> jennifer: do you think michelle that we made a successful play for women voters. >> i don't know if i would call

it successful but it was very -- i say this as a woman, it was very, very compelling to see his wife speak the way she did. it was compelling to see governor martinez, and condy rice. these are all women who are extraordinary speakers. they have achieved so much what they taught us and what they showed us was they were trying to reband the republican party to make us feel that the republican party is a place for women, but there has been so much damage done to the republican party's image and brand particularly with women and people of color that over the next six weeks they will have a difficult time proving to particularly single women that there is a home for them within the party. >> jennifer: karl this is a new

poll out showing that obama still leads romney 52 to 50%. but 45% of independents rated him favorably. is that just a bump, and will it last? >> interesting that poll showed he didn't get a bounce overall. people may like him a little bit more, but that doesn't mean they are going to vote for him. he is still lagging behind the president on who would pick if the election was today. so it was interesting that the nominee didn't get a bounce after the convening. that being said i think he have a tough couple of days. it's only a matter of days

before republicans remind people who mitt romney and paul ryan are. i have a feeling we'll hear this ticket doesn't support equality for women, and that --more than anything -- you can put all of the women in the world that you want that have done well with their lives, but this comes down to policies. >> jennifer: yeah clearly the platform on women's reproductive rights is abysmal. but there also was no mention of . . . >> immigration -- >> right. >> climate change romney care afghanistan, right. so do you think he decided it was more important for him to

present the romney likability stories rather than go after policy? >> absolutely. because number 1 on policy, quite frankly there are not a lot of differences -- at least in terms of what we have actually been told on where romney stands on policy. there are not a lot of differences between mitt romney and barack obama with the exception of romney wanting to appeal health care but also the american public wants to like their american leaders. let's face it, their favorability and likability ratings are abysmally low. no one knows who mitt romney is, and liking his wife is not enough to get him elected president of the united states, so he had to start off where he did, which was reforming and explaining the damage that has been done to the republican party and letting us know who he is. without doing that the next six weeks are completely unimportant to him. so we expect to see a little bit

of a bump. one of the things i wanted to add, though this bump he receive is coming before barack obama speaks next week. he is a fabulous speaker. people like his wife and children, and the fact he is so supportive of women's rights in the workplace and reproductive rights, so i would think we would see any bump that mitt romney got this week probably evaporate after next week. >> jennifer: karl one more quick question, romney claimed that republicans had united behind the president following his election. take a quick listen. >> oh, god. >> jennifer: hang on. take a listen. >> romney: americans always come together after elections -- >> jennifer: well, i'm not sure if you caught it all but he was

clearly saying that his party has supported the president. what do you think he is trying to even do with that statement? >> well, the most important thing is that independents have been turned off by republicans over the last three years, so he was trying to show them he is not the members of congress that yell you lie, the members of congress who have said from day one their big goal is to keep him from having a second term he is not any of these other crack pots in the republican party. he is not rush limbaugh or glenn beck who called him a racist. the fact of the matter is the people in that room are those people. that is the republican party, and as to the point that there's no difference in policy, real difference, that's not true. mitt romney advocated basically going to iran and russia last night. president obama is not going to take that path. there are differences when it comes to health care and women's rights, and gay's rights, and

minority rights when it comes to immigration and education, there is notten issue in this election that there is not a stark contrast between moving the country forward and taking us back in time like when george bush was president. >> jennifer: good thing we have a choice. i like it when the choice is crystal clear. that is karl frisch and michelle bernard, president of the barnard center. thanks so much for joining me inside "the war room." coming up what does picking the proper pro noun have to do with winning the election? maybe everything. and it is sad, outrageous and has to be stopped. and later we'll give you "the war room"'s take on the interview tweeted around the world. including you.

join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct. (vo) ...after the premiere of joy behar: say anything

♪

welcome back into "the war room," i'm jennifer grandholm. now to my point. my mom used to tell me to watch out for guys with an eye problem, not this kind of eye, but i, as in me myself and i, the ones who were selfish. those guys, she warned, were bad dates. i feel like i have just been on a week-long bad date with the republican party. david put into words what really had been bothering me. the republicans in tampa offered a vision of rampant hyper individualism. there was almost no talk of community and compassionate conservatism. well, he was right, it was so

intensely individualistic. in an era of movies about superheroes individually concurring evil and with a big chunk of the gop professing love for the likes of ayn rand and others. this past week self gloer iffic indication trumped. the i conquered bewe. next week democrats have to boldly counter this anti-we zeal and nobody can speak to that better than barack obama. and i am so hoping asking you,

mr. president, to please take the rhetoric back. heroism is its greatest when it is directed to saving all of us saving we, not just i. mr. president, i like superheroes as much as the next movie goer but to be super a hero cannot be selfish, we need a 21st century mario cuomo-like convention speech to rally us. we need to answer compassion not selfishness. we want you to remind us we're part of something bigger, wart of that wagon train, that we're in a wagon that carries all of our american family to new ground. we don't leave the orphan because he is too small to contribute, we carry our broth we are a disability and our sister who is ill.

that's who we are. that's what we do. we do celebrate individuals who overcome and we help to remove barriers for those still struggling on the journey. so call us mr. president, call us to serve each other. please remind us of that nobility. take us to higher ground. make my soul sing. make our hearts full. talk about certainly your economic plans and your foreign policy achievements and domestic vision. but more importantly, please feed our hunger for a leader who asks us to give and not to take. in other words, sir, next week please take us on a good date. see you in charlotte.

as we know communities of color are feeling this great recession more than others in fact, for communities of color,

especially in the african american community, the great recession has before more like a great depression. >> jennifer: that's the great california congress woman barbara lee joins addressing her floor. congress woman lee and cory booker are going to unveil the democratic party's platform. tonight we're so honored to well her congress woman lee here inside "the war room." welcome. >> pleasure to be here. >> jennifer: you have had such a big role in developing the platform, when you contrast it with the republican party's platform, it seems like it was drafted by religious extremists is ours going to be more unifying? >> i think you are see the

democratic party has set forth an agenda that first off recognizes the major accomplishments of the president. he saved the auto industry so we in our platform set forth so much of what has been done. but also we set forth what the president's vision is for the future, and what democrats have for our vision for the future which is a future that speaks to the aspirations of all americans. >> jennifer: it's interesting to compare and contrast. their platform was so controversial that reince preibus said it didn't represent mitt romney's views. >> our platform represents the president's views, but also the values and morals that the american people expect all americans to represent. it's a platform that brings

forth what has happened with the middle class but also what has hand and those who are aspiring to the middle class, and working to be in the middle class, what their aspirations are also. it's a unifying document and agenda, because it has to unify the country, and believe you me it was not -- i would say as controversial as the republican platform is and was, but we made sure that we included the ideas and the aspirations of everyone, all of the constituencies. >> jennifer: having -- having seen the action of a number of democratic party platforms i know there is always some controversies, democrats we are a brood -- big tent, so not everybody within the tent agrees one way or another. on the republican side they -- they clearly aced out certain constituencies like immigrants, et cetera, from

feeling included in their platform. however what they said on the floor of the convention seemed to contradict actually the document they had. i'm assuming we're not going to have that. >> i don't think so. the democratic party is a big party, and we debate many many issues, but at the end of the day, we came up with a platform that reflects the american people. >> jennifer: were there any particular issues that were sensitive? >> there were many sensitive issues, but we came to agreement around all of the issues. often there were those who had been struggling to become middle income, middle class individuals, oftentimes we don't include them in our agenda or in our platform. well this was not contentious

but i was part of the process that included the issues of so so many people, so it became a very inclusive platform. and we heard the stories of so many people. it was an open process. people came and testified to the drafting committee. this was in july. we heard stories from individuals who's jobs for instance had been saved as a result of the president saving the auto industry. we heard many many stories. >> jennifer: that's my favorite story, of course. having been in michigan when that happened. the -- the aspirational nature of a platform is a phenomenon thing for -- to lead people into a convention. you will be speaking on the first day of the convention to help unveil this i assume. >> i will be the first speaker. >> jennifer: okay. >> and we'll lay out the principals and values of the

platform. >> jennifer: that's very exciting. i'm speaking on thursday night -- >> we'll be there. >> jennifer: but believe me i'll be covering all of this. let's listen to a sound bite from mitt romney last night. >> romney: every president since the great depression who came before the american people asking for a second term could look bakt the last four years and say with satisfaction, you are better off than you were four years ago, except jimmy carter. [ laughter ] >> romney: and except this president. [ cheers and applause ] >> jennifer: i know a lot of our base the democratic party base many of them have not felt as enthused as they were in 2008. how do we convince them? >> first of all we have a long way to go. we still have an unemployment rate that is off the scale, and

the president has and will continue to work to bring down. but i see each and every day how the republicans have obstructed each and every bill that would really address job creation and the unemployment rate. however, the economy is moving forward. woe have major investments in health care, and when you look at the fact that now just as an example -- young people can stay on their parent's health insurance until they are 26 years of age. when you look at the fact now women don't have to pay a higher price in terms of their premiums. being a woman is not a preexisting condition for example. when you look at many of the benefits achieved during -- as a result of the recovery act. the president saved hundreds of thousands of jobs through the recovery act. >> jennifer: absolutely. four years ago we were in the

middle of a meltdown. 750,000 jobs a month were being lost. of course we are better off. are we where we want to be? of course not. but four years ago we were imploding. >> it was very disenagainous. the president stopped the bleeding, and now the economy is turning around but let me tell you, mitch mcconnell said early on, their first priority was to make sure this president was a one-term president, and they have set forth each and every day to try to obstruct anything that would really turn the economy fully around, and even with that, we're making much much progress. >> jennifer: here she is chief eyewitness to the obstruction of the republicans. barbara lee is just a phenomenal

representative of the oakland area. and thank you so much for coming in. and please come back. >> i will come back. and good to see you. all right. next up finally some good news to push back on the republican's strategy to repress votes, and later, i'm generally hesitant about piling on to awkward moments, unfortunately our brett has no such qualms. >> coming up my invisible interview with invisible president obama. don't go away. ♪ because it's america's number one brand. just minutes to make, then bake!

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get irresistibly clean and fresh carpets in your home with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. aisha moodie mills now. >> most people in this country have no idea that election fraud is an issue, that it can even possibly be an issue. it's kind of a dirty little secret that no one wants to talk about. we don't want to recognize it as a problem, because we don't want

to see it as a problem. >> jennifer: who is that woman? she is katherine inglebreck. she is with a koch brother's association called true the vote. they would love you to believe that voter fraud is rampant in this country. but let me be really clear. they are lying. that's right. they are lying. according to news 21 there have been only ten cases of alleged in person voter fraud in the country since the year 2000. in that same time frame, about 1500 people died from a coconut-related injury. and you don't see koch brothers trying to ban pina coladas.

but they have been dealt some serious setbacks this wooek. today in the all-important swing state of ohio a federal judge issued an injunction against early voting restrictions. and yesterday in texas, a federal court struck down that state's voter id law. they said it was discriminatory and of course there is a lot more going on in the states many cases pending in several swings in particular. for context and perspective, we're worked on the last four presidential campaigns and now he head up his own firm dogpatch strategies. and coming us to washington, d.c. is aisha moodie mills. welcome back inside "the war room" to both of you. >> thank you. >> gad to be here. >> jennifer: democrats contend,

donnie that in 2008 more than 90,000 people took advantage of early voting in ohio, and a disproportion at it number of them were african-americans. how important is today's decision in securing a victory for president obama in ohio. >> republicans have a history that goes back 50 years that try to make it harder for americans to vote. democrats want to make it easier for americans to vote. when you give people a voice, they can vote on saturday many states you can vote 30 days beforehand. that gives americans more chance to exercise our vote. if the right to vote is sacred, let's make it easier for americans to cast their ballot. >> jennifer: totally agree. and aisha, the decision in texas was interesting, because rick

perry says he is going to appeal the decision all the way to the supreme court. do you think that these problems would be resolved if we had federal election standards? >> you know, first of all, here is the reality, we already in our constitution say that every citizen of the united states has the same right to vote. we have the right to vote. we cannot have any state that is suppressing anyone's right to vote based on race or gender. and one would think that would be enough. and that's why we're seeing the courts strike down these really crazy laws. but surely we need some more federal intervention as it's very clear that we do. i think we have to do something to reel these republicans in keep them from throwing so much into the system to bialek shuns, and get federal elections in place to keep them from

disenfranchising people of color. >> jennifer: absolutely. in florida a judge struck down their voter id law. that voter id law in florida, shocking how much impact it has had. because in democratic registration was down 95%. whereas republican registration was up by a third. it was a stunning amount of disparity. >> rules have results. >> jennifer: what would democrats do? >> go out and double their efforts to voters vote early, you don't need an id that you have to speak out against this injustice get out there and vote. republicans say they want -- mickey haley -- >> jennifer: let's listen to a sound bite from her. >> we said in south carolina that if you have to show a

picture id to by sued fed, if you have to show picture id to set foot on an airplane then you should have to have a picture id to have the right to vote. and what happened? president obama stopped it. >> jennifer: aisha i want you to make the case against that. respond to people who think that it is no big deal. >> oh, their dear nikki haley. first of all voting rights are in our constitution. we have more amendments that extend voting rights to american than we do pretty much any other right that we have. there's nothing in the constitution that solidifies anything that has to do with us flying on planes. so nikki haley is comparing apples and oranges. we should really be asking nikki

haley and the respects why do they want to disenfranchise choice people of color? why are they trying to keep people going to the polls? it's because they know when americans hear them -- when americans go to the polls, they are going to lose. they are trying to rig this election by keeping us at home. >> jennifer: she lists several pieces of id and for people who are not deep into the weeds with that, they think she is right. >> look this idea that you have to have an id to exercise a constitutional right suggests that you have to have an idea when you go to church, when you speak your mine under the first amendment, when you carry a gun. these republicans lead my mitt romney believe you need an id every time you execute a

constitutional right. >> jennifer: but what about the difficult for some people who don't have a car or a driver's license and they had to travel 200 miles to get a government-issued id -- >> that's the point. >> that's what is at the heart of this. at the end of the day, this is really about keeping poor people who are overwhelmingly african american and latino in south carolina, texas and florida, and even in ohio from being able to vote. it's those folks who would have the most difficulty getting ids. like you said they have to travel to get them and this is about keeping them disenfranchised. >> jennifer: thank you both for coming inside "the war room," and up next, clint eastwood made our day, but did his ruin mitt

romney's. >> i'm not going to shut up. it's my turn. [ laughter ]

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>> jennifer: earlier in the show i addressed president obama in my point. a lot of us wish we could talk to him every day but leave it to clint eastwood to have an imaginary conversation with the president. listen up invisible obama, because shhhh, brett's talking now. >> after three long nights the republican national convention finally wrapped up in the home of the nhl tampa bay lightning and the event was pretty much like hockey brutal and pretty much only white people liked it. let's talk and the elephant in the room. no, not that one. this one. >> i have mr. obama sitting here and i just was going to ask him a couple of questions --

>> yeah, clint eastwood talked to an invisible president in a chair. it was weird. people in the arena seemed to like it. but people in the arena also wore this hat. >> i think i just drank clint eastwood's water. thank you. >> did you hear that speech because i don't think that's water. the internet exploded in its patented brand of joyful mockery. thousands and thousands of people started following invisible obama. one person reimagined sheperd berry's hope poster, and a new photo theme erupted called eastwooding, where people just sold empty furniture. clint eastwood was just doing what everybody does at a convention, shouting at the other guy even though he is not there to defend himself. i'm done talking now.

are you coming? ♪ >> jennifer: thanks, brett. now i want to turn to political humorist will durst. welcome back into "the war room." did clint eastwood make your day too? >> oh, it was wonderful. i -- i loved it. i couldn't believe it. i called my wife in to watch. the poor guy he obviously woke up from a nap -- >> i know his hair. >> he had bed hair. and then he up staged the nominee's acceptance speech by losing an argument with an empty chair. and the best joke on the interweb was he went back to his hotel room and got in an altercation with his bed staff. [ laughter ] >> jennifer: it was a very bizarre moment. i have never seen anything like it. but of course the romney team wanted to use that whole thing last night to make romney appear

human and less robotic. do you think it came across that way? >> well, he's tough. i mean he is stiffer than rick santorum on a gay pride parade float. >> jennifer: i don't even know what that means. >> i changed it from marcus bachmann. >> jennifer: oh, my gosh. >> but i thought ann did a great job. and chris christie followed her. and said it's not about love. it's about respect. >> jennifer: i know. i know. >> they did not sync up. >> jennifer: but what i thought was so interesting -- >> continuity. >> jennifer: chris christie says the word i 37 times, and mitt 7 times.

what is up with that? >> me, me, me me. he is trying to wedge himself into that just in case there is a november romney stumble stumblestumble -- >> jennifer: but don't you think that is 2016. >> yeah. and mario rubio, i thought he did a great job. >> jennifer: he did a nice job, but the wannabes for this time tim pawlenty, et cetera, they were a little more low-key and bunched together on a night that actually saw ratings drop significantly. so who knows. one of the things that did come out of this is the issue about lying came out an awful lot. so romney campaign's pollster held this discussion and he said

in it in describing his advice that . . . and obviously that explains a lot about paul ryan's speech. are you bothered by the lying? >> facts? we don't need for stinking facts? ryan's speech almost everything in the speech was a distortion or an illusion -- the gm plant was closed in december of '08. he blamed obama for that. and the hindenberg that was obama too, and the fall of the roman empire no that was biden. >> jennifer: yes. next week what are you looking for in charlotte? >> the same thing only no hurricane. better dancing. i think there will be better dancing. >> jennifer: republican dancing shots were fantastic.

listen, pick your foot up and show everybody what you are wearing and talk about white shoes. but any way, will durst thank you so much for joining us. i have to call hypocrisy. right there, folks. mind out if clint eastwood made our list of the worst jokes from tampa. that's right here in "the war room" next. >>if mitt romney treats his magic underwear the same way as his tax returns, then he's been going commando for the past 10 years.

right by those who gave their lives to for this country nearly 70 years ago. the president takes more vacations than the guy on the bizarre food show. and i'll give barack obama credit for creating jobs these last four years, for golf caddies. >> he thinks that if you started a business, quote, you didn't build that. well, how would he know? president obama has never run a

company. he hasn't even run a garage sale or seen the inside of a lemonade stand. >> the only hitch in another wise perfect week was the awful noise coming from the hotel room next door to mine. turns out it was just debbie wasserman schultz practicing her speech for the democratic national convention next week. >> he hasn't been working to earn recollection. he has been working to earn a spot on the pga tour. >> jennifer: oh, that of course is what happens when republicans try to be funny. we'll see if democrats can do better next tuesday night. current's coverage of the dnc ticks off at 7:00. we'll feature your tweets and what the rest of the political world is saying. thank you so much for joining us here in "the war room." have a great night.